Man, I need encouragement. Maybe it's just me...or maybe it's just because I am waayyy overbudget on this one.
I got a loan and decided to build my version (or what I think will look good) of a Tiki Bar complete with a Jacuzzi spa. I am about $5k over what I wanted to spend on a large outdoor BBQ pad with sink, fridge, grill, and griddle plate. So far, I have everything laid out...we poured 10 yds. of concrete today, with 4 more coming for the jacuzzi spa next week. My plans are to use a two sided roof with raffia on top to cover a 5X5 jacuzzi spa with a small waterfall ...a small outdoor shower...all on a 12X35 ft pad. I live on one acre so I have lots of room. I am lucky my wife is supportive but now I am getting nervous about this whole thing. I will post a pic as the work progresses in case anyone wants to see and/or make comments (I have thick skin and will appreciate suggestions). I think at this point I need ideas to keep me on my toes...for example, I will be using 4X6 beams holding up this structure instead of round logs because of availability. Should I carve and stain the beams a teak color or just stain them w/o adding carvings?
I guess I am nervous as hell about this whole project...but I guess any of would be if we invested about $16k after everything is to be completed...am I off my rocker or what?

Maybe a little "value engineering" is in order. If you're $5k over now, I could see that adding up fast & maybe going higher as the project progresses. Do you really need the shower & waterfall now? I'm not suggesting you cut them out of the project, but maybe you could settle for adding them in later. I'd stub in the sewer & water, and cap it off at a good point for later extension. And you can always tie the shower drain vent line into the sink vent later. I don't know the specifics of your project, but if I were you I'd take a good look at what you absolutely need, and what's on your wish list if the budget permits. You'll need power for the barbeque, but maybe you can stub some conduit with pull strings in place to add some of the non-essential lighting later. Tiki torches give off a nice romantic glow, right?

Just a few thoughts... Hey, that huge yard looks like an empty canvas for the perfect tiki dreamscape! Now that you've posted pix of the beginning, you'll have to keep us posted on how this thing progresses. Good luck & thanks for sharing!

A-A
_________________"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

El Centro! My gramps "cookie" had a ranch there. And yes w a nickname like "cookie" boy could he scrap. Well back to the topic at hand. I would say carve the posts, but if you f them up, thats it. So on that note, I would say make a repeating tapa design of cut0outs. Maybe use redwood fencing wood 6" to cut the designs out. You can carve on these adn if the get screwed up, toss em. Sometimes if I amd doing a repeating design, I use masonite templates so they come out nice and crispy clean.

After these guys are all cut out, carved on to add some depth and maybe painted and then stained over the paint(to give it that oldschool look) nail them to the posts. See if you carved on the post , it might weaked them or....? so that is my $.02. Maybe you can give us so mo pics.

You didn't mention anything about landscape. Is that in the budget? Are your jacuzzi, waterfall and BBQ pre-made, drop on site kinda thing or are they being custom made? How much of this are you doing yourself?

Here is how we justify some of our over budget items. Break the cost down over the next 20 years. It doesn't seem so bad then

Of course I'm all for carving all the posts and beams, but it can be a hugh undertaking to do them All.So just do the corners and a pattern on some of the beams. Any dark stain is fine. Just don't plan anything so intricate that it never gets done. Keep it simple and follow the plan. You can change many things as you go and add many thing after the project is complete.
You can add carvings to posts by getting Carvable pine or cedar 2X6' boards and gluing them together at 90% along the egde. Carve a face and screw it to a post
See the tiki on the far post on the right?
It doesn't take much to make it look good.
Keep us posted with pictures and Ask all the ?'s you need.
Have FUN
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On 2005-02-08 22:04, thechikitiki wrote:I would say make a repeating tapa design of cut0outs. ... Sometimes if I amd doing a repeating design, I use masonite templates so they come out nice and crispy clean.

I'd love to see a detailed post on this technique with plenty o'pics... the patterns especially. The concept is easy enough to understand, I'd just like to see a master at work before I hack up a chunk of wood.

-Z
_________________Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open
Thank God The Tiki Torch Still Shines...

Wow, many thanks for the great ideas! I am only doing the final landscaping myself with whatever will grow out here in the desert (I am 110 mi. south of Palm Springs-ask thechikitiki..LOL). I guess banana plants will do ok here as well as the omnipresent palm trees. The Jacuzzi, waterfall and BBQ are all custom-made, as my crew doing the gruntwork assure me it would be less pricey...so far, they are right (maybe it's ME who didn't want to go over over $10k on this...hey, what do I know?).
I really like the idea of carving 6" redwood fence planks and screwing them on the main posts later. I will probably stain them a teak color for now and do the carvings as time permits.
AA: thanks for the advice. At this point, all the power supplies and drains have been installed. This whole thing should be completed in 3 weeks or less. I will take pics as I go along and post them.
I really appreciate all the advice...this yard is HUGE. The pic only shows 1/3 of the backyard...and there are 2 side yards and a front yard also!
Dave

Damn that looks nice, Danny. Must be tough workin' with all that round lumber, though. I'm thinking about building one of those 4-post open carving huts in the next year or so. Maybe I'll hit you up for some advice when it gets closer if you don't mind?

A-A
_________________"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

Thanks for the ideas, Danny. I like the color you used on those round logs. The only problem I have here is intense sun and heat, so I am using 1/2" plywood sheets as a roof and the raffia will go on top of that. I will paint the underside of the sheets a brown color so it will "blend in" a little better. Here's another pic of the progress...oh ya, that's me on the right side...before I had to go to work in the morning. The rain forced the guys to stop work by the time I got home...

This is a pic I took this morning before leaving for work. I had the privilege of meeting Onatiki after work and he and his wife Monica were gracious enough to show me their beautiful home. Their home is a pristine example of "Tiki" as I would imagine it...even though the pics on this site are good, they don't do it justice. Thanks Ric for the many excellent tips and ideas...you will see how I implement them here little by little...LOL!